Bitfarms has announced that it will bring forward its 2.2 EH/s hosting agreement with Stronghold Digital Mining to October 2024, two months earlier than originally planned. The agreement will allow Bitfarms to add 10,000 Bitmain T21 mining machines to its Panther Creek facility in Pennsylvania. Ben Gagnon, CEO of Bitfarms, said the facilities will help the company expand its business, reduce power costs, and enter the energy trading and AI space. In addition, Bitfarms' planned Stronghold takeover triggered a backlash from its largest shareholder, Riot Platforms. Riot called for reforms to the Bitfarms board and questioned the value of the Stronghold takeover, arguing that the deal would dilute shareholders. Bitfarms responded that Riot's proposal was motivated by self-interest and insisted that the Stronghold acquisition was a strategic move to optimize its U.S. business.